The Pilot, the Soldier, and the Child
by KittyGonzales
Summary: Annette Washburne had the best family in the 'verse.  I'm hopefully gonna change the name later.  Set after my sotry 'He's a Hero', which is set after 'The Ghosts', but if you really wanted to you could skip them.
1. Chapter 1

**A Slightly More Detailed Description:** A brief story of the life of Annette Washburne.

**Author's Note:** Like I said in the (first) description, this is set after my other stories, and if you're going to skip them, please note that a) everyone's alive, and b) I have an OC aboard _Serenity_. Also, there is or will be an accidental Arrested Development reference in this story; try and find it!

The crew could tell something was up. Wash was grinning like a madman and looked far too pleased to be entirely healthy, but there was nothing all too odd about that. Zoe was looking a strange mixture of happy, nervous, and embarrassed, and that _was _odd, not to mention a little scary. Mal had a feeling this had happened before. It took him a second to remember it. The time they'd announced their engagement. This couldn't be good.

As they finished their dinner, Wash found it harder and harder to suppress his nervous giggles. Zoe gave him a wide, radiant smile (making everyone at the table shiver) and whispered, "Do you want to tell them?" she almost giggled. This was serious.

"No, you should," he replied in a similar state.

"But you're so much better than me at these kinds of things,"

"Okay, fine," Wash said, then turned to address everyone, "Zoe's pregnant!"

Silverware clattered to the table, mouths hung open, and everyone stared. Mal was the first one to say anything. "She's _what?"_

"Pregnant. Isn't it wonderful?" He knew very well that Mal was furious, but he wasn't about let anything ruin his good mood.

"We don't want to know whether it's a boy or a girl, so River, honey, keep your mouth shut," Zoe said with a smile. The captain turned to her.

"Have you thought this through?"

"I think we have, sir," she replied, reverting to her customary cool tone.

"Congratulations!" Kaylee said, a bit late.

"Yes, that's um," Simon said, "That's very… are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Simon!"

"He's got a point," Jayne said.

"Well I think it's wonderful!" Kaylee said defiantly.

"Thank you, Kaylee." Wash grinned, "At least _someone's _on our side."

"We're not picking sides, we're pointing out the facts!" Mal said, and then, "Remember what I said about shipboard romances splitting loyalties? This is what I was talking about."

"You were also opposed to us getting married, and see how well that turned out?"

"That was completely different! You were both already on the ship, the only change was the wedding ring! And neither of you were tiny and helpless- well, Wash was kind of helpless-"

"Hey!"

"Point is, this is different."

"Well, there's really nothing we can do about it now, now is there?" Zoe said coolly.

Mal sighed. "I guess not."

* * *

><p>"Now, about names," Wash said, taking in his normal position behind the helm and gesturing for Zoe to sit in the co-pilot's seat, "If it's a boy, under no circumstances are we to name it Hoban."<p>

"I wasn't planning on it."

"I'd be fine with naming it Zoe, though," he smiled, "If it's a girl, I mean."

"I don't know. It seems a bit strange to me."

"Now that you mention it, it would be a little creepy."

"So, what will we name it?"

"What about… I don't know. How 'bout… Geez, this is harder than I thought."

"What about… Lily, if it's a girl."

"No. I dated a Lily in college, and it did not end well."

"Well then maybe… Alice."

"That's my grandmother's name, it seems a bit old-lady-ish."

"Is there any name you do like?"

"How about… Veronica?"

"Uh-uh."

"I like that name!"

"And I don't."

Wash sighed. "If it's this hard to pick a name, actually raising the kid's gonna be impossible."

"Maybe this wasn't such a great idea."

"Hey," Wash said soothingly, "It'll be fine. We'll find a name, and it'll be perfect, and we'll have the best gorram kid in the 'verse." Zoe walked over and hugged him, and he layed his head on her shoulder and grabbed her hand. "You're going to be a wonderful mother," he said.


	2. Chapter 2

Annette Washburne had her mother's brown hair and her father's blue eyes; her mother's full lips and her father's warm smile.

"She is a real beauty, ain't she?" Zoe said, watching the baby staring up at the world from her cradle, tiny, fragile, only a few days old.

"That she is," Wash smiled, hugging his wife from behind. They stared contentedly for a bit before Wash asked, "So, um, what do we do, exactly?"

"About what?"

"Well, parenting. How does one parent?"

"I don't know. Should we maybe sing to it or something?"

"Do you know any songs?"

Zoe thought. There was one song her mother used to sing to her, and she'd heard it here and there throughout her life. Mostly she heard a different version that she could never remember, but she liked her mom's lyrics better. "I know one," she said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm not much of a singer but…

"*Hush, little baby, don't say a word  
>"Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird<br>"And if that mockingbird don't mock real well, well, then  
>"Papa's gonna buy you a freedom bell<br>"Oh, and if that freedom bell don't ring  
>"Papa's gonna buy you a cubic zirconia ring<br>"And if that cubic zirconia ring don't shine  
>"You're gonna give your papa a real hard time<br>"Now ain't you?  
>"Ain't you, baby, ain't you?<p>

"And if that real hard time don't pass  
>"Papa's gonna get wrinkles all upon his face<br>"And then he'll blend in with all the other papas then  
>"Screw the whole mockingbird situation, we can't even afford a medical plan<br>"Now can we?  
>"Oh, baby, now can we?<br>"This song won't do. Let's start this over.

"Hush, little baby, here comes the sandman  
>"Papa's gonna buy you a medical plan<br>"And if something something la la la," Zoe trailed off, hummed for a bit, then picked up at a part she knew the lyrics to.

"Hush, little baby, don't you cry  
>"You know to you your papa would never, ever lie<br>"Oh, hush while I sing to you this crude little lullaby  
>"And I'll get you all that shit one day<br>"One by one, by and by  
>And..." She really tried to remember what came after that, but it evaded her. She refused to let the song trail off without a proper ending, though, so she wildly invented<p>

"And even if we don't bao bei,

"You should love your papa anyway

"'Cause he'll love you no matter what,

"And," she looked at Wash for inspiration, "And, girl, have you seen that butt?

"I married him for a reason."

"That's a kid's song?" Wash laughed.

"I'm gonna have to edit that ending before she understands what it means."

"Well, I'm glad you think my butt is song-worthy"

"Have you seen it?"

"Actually, I'm not sure," He stretched to look back at his pi gu, "Hmm, nice. I can see why you like me so much."

"Zi lian hun dan," Zoe muttered, but she was smiling. After all, she _had_ married him for a reason.

* * *

><p>*End of Chapt. 2*<p>

* * *

><p>*The song 'Mockingbird' by Regina Spektor, with a bit of editing.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Annette loved her family. She loved her parents, her mother who saw guns in every pocket and grenades in every apple, her father who played with her toys and joked at every opportunity. There was her extended family, too. Aunt Kaylee, eternally smiling and cheerful, always up for a game when Anne wanted to play; Uncle Simon, stiff and proper, always just a bit awkward around her, but he was kind, and he took good care of her when she was sick. There was Uncle Jayne, gruff and coarse, who had taught her how to fight and handle weapons as soon as she'd learned to walk, and Grandpa Book, always calm and reassuring, who had tried to teach her about religion, but hadn't forced it on her when it was clear she wasn't interested. There was Aunt Inara, who would put up her hair and try to teach her how to be a proper woman. As long as Annette could remember, she had been telling her, "Pronounce your tones. Remember, 'mama ma ma ma?'*" Aunt Mei, who always baked her a special cake for her birthday, even if their supplies usually only allowed for an odd-tasting mush that vaguely resembled chocolate, on Anne's birthday she would save up to buy some actual ingredients; and there was Uncle Mal, who was always reserved, but she loved him, and she knew that he loved her, even if he didn't show it. And then there was River.

* * *

><p>"Mama," Annette asked, sitting on one of the crates in the cargo bay and swinging her legs, "Can I come with you and Uncle Jayne and Uncle Mal?"<p>

"No," Zoe replied firmly.

"But I haven't been off the ship in a million billion years!"

"That's quite an achievement, considering you're only four."

"Four and a half." Anne replied stubbornly.

Zoe wasn't about to take her daughter into Badger's filthy den, but it had been a long time since she left the ship. "Why don't you ask your father to take you to some of the shops?"

Annette said nothing, only hopped off the crate and ran to the bridge, shouting, "Baba! Baba!"

When she reached the bridge, she was out of breath, and had to pant for a few seconds before she could say anything. "Daddy," she said after a while, "Will you take me shopping?"

"Sure thing, bao bao," he said, then picked her up, even though she was getting a bit old for that kind of thing, and carried her down to the cargo bay.

When they got there, Mal, Jayne, and Zoe were just about to leave. "Hey, honey," Zoe said, "She talk you into going out?"

"Well, I think we could both use a little time off-ship."

"Have fu-" she began, but then she saw what was outside, and she gave a tiny gasp and grabbed Wash's hand.

All of Persephone was wearing black. The normally bright and bustling streets now looked like the setting a massive funeral. They might have wondered why, but for the large sign proclaiming "REMEMBER MIRANDA." She squeezed Wash's hand, as though to make sure he were real.

"What's Mir…rand…da?" Annette asked.

"It's nothing, dear." Zoe said. This had somehow never come up, they'd never even thought about what they'd do if Anne found out about Miranda.

"Have fun shopping!" she said, determined to keep her voice cheery, as if nothing was wrong. And really, nothing was wrong. A part of her knew that. But a bigger part of her wanted to cry, the part of her that was watching the same scene over and over again. The one that ended with a harpoon through the windshield glass.

They did not, in fact, have fun shopping. Most of the shops were closed, and everyone who remained was very somber, and glared at Wash for his bright clothes, no matter how much he tried to explain that he hadn't realized what day it was, and he didn't mean any disrespect, so could he _please_ just buy his daughter the gorram toy.

"Look, I understand. I know someone who died on Miranda," he said, which was not entirely true, but it was much easier to explain than the truth, and much easier to believe. Really, considering that he had _died_ so this day could happen, he thought he deserved a gorram parade, but the owner of the stand wouldn't even sell him the stupid doll.

"You did?" said the woman running the stall beside it. "Poor thing," she said sympathetically, then rummaged around the shop until she found a bright little green and pink bracelet. "Would you like this, sweetie?" she asked Annette, wrapping it around her wrist.

"Yes," she said simply.

"Now, Anne, what do you say?"

"Xie xie."

"Good girl," he said approvingly, and then to the shop owner, "How much is that?"

"Well, I feel bad charging you, but…" She named the price, and Wash sincerely wished he could take it back, but Annette was already smiling at it and playing with the beads, so he sighed and paid.

* * *

><p>"Are you okay?" Mal asked Zoe, standing in a small waiting room outside Badger's dingy office.<p>

Zoe set her jaw, clenched and unclenched her fists, and nodded. "Yes, sir. I just…" her voice wavered a bit, "I didn't realize it was M-day already."

"Hey, it's okay," Mal said, though he wasn't very good at comforting people, "Remember, you've got Wash, and Anne, and it's like Miranda never happened."

Jayne said nothing. If it was anyone else, he would have told them to toughen up and quit their crying, but he respected Zoe. Even if he didn't understand why the Hell she was getting all sentimental over nothing, even if he'd never understood why she'd married that dumb-ass pilot in the first place, he respected her, and part of him knew that there was something going on that he couldn't understand, but it made sense to the rest of the world. So, he remained silent.

* * *

><p>Zoe was her normal stoic self as Badger detailed the job, which was a good deal more exciting than they'd had in a while. Apparently, there were a few items he wanted stolen from a museum. He showed them the layout, described the security, and told them what to steal. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the meeting until they were about to leave.<p>

"I almost forgot," Badger said, "congratulations!"

"For what?"

"For the little one. Wos 'er name? Anika, Annabelle..?"

"Annette," Zoe said, without thinking.

"That's the one! Now, for this job, you'll be handling some valuable items, and I'm sure you'll be tempted to keep some of those items. But believe me, if you do, I will know, and little 'Annette' will be… Well, she'll be worse off than if you'd just left it well alone. Not to mention that pilot of yours. Ta jioa shenme mingzi? Wash? Odd name, that. But then again, you're an odd bunch. And if you want that bunch to stay safe and whole, you'll think twice about crossing me."

* * *

><p>*End Of Chapt. 3*<p>

* * *

><p>* I can't show it on the computer, but all the 'ma's have different tone marks. It literally means, "Is mom scolding the horse?", and it's a good way to practice pronouncing the tones.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Mal opened the tool kit silently, straining to hear any sound. Slowly, he picked up a pair of wire cutters and a screwdriver stood up.

"I haven't been to a museum in ages," River said serenely. Mal jumped and dropped the tools. When he had last looked, he, Zoe, and Jayne had been the only ones in the room.

River did something with her foot too fast for Mal to catch, flicking the tools into her hand before they hit the ground. She handed them to Mal, putting a finger to her lips. "Stealth," she said, smiling, "You may have heard of it." The saying meant nothing to Mal, but Zoe started.

"Did you take care of the security video?" Mal asked, choosing to ignore her eerie sudden appearance. She nodded. "Well, while you're here, do you mind helping me with this?" he said, gesturing to the alarm he was trying to deactivate.

River looked at it carefully for a moment, reached up, and pulled something small from the device. "There," she said.

"What did you- how-?" River ignored him and studied an oil painting on the wall. It depicted a bunch of men in rowboats crossing an icy river, with a bold-looking captain standing and watching the sun rise.

"All the rowboats in the paintings, they'll keep trying to row away. And the captains' worried faces stay contorted and staring at the waves." She said, and hummed a tune Mal didn't recognize.

"Shut the Hell up," Jayne snarled, "Do you want to get caught?"

"There are only five security guards in the museum," River said flatly, "Three of them are on the other side of the building, one of them snuck out to buy some food, and one of them is unconscious." She noticed the worried look on Mal's face. "No fingerprints," she said, holding up her gloved hands, "And he didn't see my face." Then she went back to humming, now turning her attention to the violins that were displayed in the center of the room.

"The most special and the most lonely," she sang, "God, I pity the violins. In glass coffins, they'll keep coughing. They've forgotten, forgotten how to sing."

Mal took a deep breath and grabbed the violin. He expected sirens to blare and lights to flash, but nothing happened. Whatever River had done, it worked.

They stored everything carefully in straw-packed crates and loaded the crates onto a wheeled cart. As they were about to leave, River whispered, "Stop."

Everyone froze. Without another word, she walked into the hallway, climbed nimbly up the wall and onto the ceiling, and waited, balancing on a light fixture. Heavy footsteps echoed through the hall and a sleepy-looking security guard appeared. When he drew level with River, she swung down and kicked him in the stomach and followed it with a hard blow to the head. He hit the ground with only the slightest "oomph."

"Nice work," Mal said, and they ran to the front doors, and found that someone had locked them since they came in. Jayne swore, but it was mostly for the love of swearing, for River just gave them a good kick and they swung open. They loaded the crates onto the mule and drove back to Serenity.

After everything was packed away, Zoe went to the bridge. Wash was lounging in his normal chair, while Annette sat slowly spinning in the co-pilot's chair.

"How did it go?" Wash asked.

"Alright. It could have gone better. River had to… use her special talent, but nothing too serious."

"What's River's special talent?" Annette asked.

"It's nothing."

"What is it?"

"She's… a magician."

"Really?"

"Yes. But she doesn't like people to know about it, so don't mention it to anyone."

"Why not?"

"Because…"

Wash took over. "Because there's an evil sorcerer who's trying to find her, and he knows her as a magician."

Annette considered this for a moment before saying, "You're making that up."

"Why would I make up something like that?"

Annette could find no answer to that, so she pouted and went to her room.

"Do you ever wonder if we're doing the right thing?" Zoe asked, "Keeping all these secrets?"

"I don't know. I just want to her have a normal life. I mean, if she knew we were criminals, she'd have a warped moral code, if she knew about Simon and River, she might tell someone, and if she knew about the whole…" he gestured to the windshield, and then to his chest, "then she'd have no fear of death. So, yes, I do wonder sometimes, but I think this is for the best."

"Hm."

"Is something else bothering you? 'Cause you've been acting kinda weird lately."

"It's nothing."

"But…"

"Well, during the meeting, Badger made some threats,"

"Nothing new there."

"And he mentioned you and Anne."

"What? He knows about her?"

"No! At least, he shouldn't. But now it sounds like he does."

"Has he ever mentioned her before?"

"No."

"Well then why now?"

"How should I know?"

"Well, it's not like we steal from him or anything, so everything should be fine so long as no one does anything stupid."

* * *

><p>River walked silently across the dark cargo bay. The rest of the crew was asleep, except for Wash on the bridge, and he wouldn't be able to hear from there anyway.<p>

She opened the compartment carefully, and dragged out one of the crates. Without a sound, she picked up the violin.

* * *

><p>*End of chapter 4*<p>

* * *

><p>The song River was singing was "All the Rowboats" by Regina Spektor. I was listening to it a while ago and I thought, "That sounds like something River would say," and I decided to put it in here. The video on youtube is .comwatch?v=-wodKgZVw4M


	5. Chapter 5

Zoe walked numbly, wearing a very somber black dress with a black veil and matching shoes, carrying two small bouquets of some red flowers whose name she wasn't sure of. Snow swirled around her, settled on her shoulders and in her hair, and crunched under her feet.

River was already there, sitting cross-legged between the headstones, singing softly to herself.

"One to leave and one to stay

"And all to dance the Macabray*"

Zoe knelt and put a bunch of flowers on each grave. The snow began to melt beneath her and soak her knees, but she didn't move. She thought she should say something.

"An xi," she whispered.

"She used to call me 'Auntie,'" River said, putting a hand on the grave to her right. She was wearing a bright summer dress, but didn't seem to notice the cold, "And would sometimes, when I would get all muddled, I would just see him," she touched the other grave, "and he would help. He couldn't help me like Simon, but he would take my mind off it. Make me happy."

There was music playing somewhere, something complex and dark. River sang,

"Rich man, poor man, come away,

Come to dance the Macabray,"

Zoe's eyes flutter open, and she reached out a hand to the person sleeping beside her. He was warm and alive. She knew that he was fine, but dreams always got her a bit jittery at times like this, when she wasn't properly awake and the dreams were still more real than real life. Wash mumbled and stirred in his sleep, and Zoe took a deep breath. It was only a dream.

The dream had ended but the music had not. It was an intricate, solemn melody being played on a violin. Zoe dressed quickly and ran to the cargo bay to investigate.

River stood there, calmly, with her eyes closed and a violin in her hands. It was undoubtedly one of the ones they had stolen from the museum.

"River, honey, put it down," Zoe said, trying to sound soothing but failing somewhat miserably. River opened her eyes slowly and stared at Zoe unblinkingly for an impossibly long time.

"It was made to be played," she said, "All that time behind glass, unable to sing. It _wants_ to be played."

"Well, right now, we don't have to worry about what the violin wants. Right now, we have to worry about what Badger wants. So, please,"

River thought for a moment, standing perfectly still with the bow still touching the strings, before she handed over the instrument to Zoe.

"Thank you."

"Never play poker with Badger," River said. Zoe made a mental note never to play poker with her. Her face was blank, her voice was flat, not to mention that she was quite possibly a psychic.

* * *

><p>Badger made a big show of inspecting each and every piece. Zoe's nerves were on fire when he examined the violin, but he didn't seem to see anything wrong with it. He very grudgingly handed over the money, and they were about to leave when Zoe asked,<p>

"What's my daughter's name?"

"What?"

"What's my daughter's name?" she repeated.

"I already told you."

"This should be easy, then. What's her name?"

"Anne."

"Her full name."

Badger stared at Zoe for a moment, then smiled. "Can't blame a bloke for trying, can you?"

"No. I don't suppose you can," she said, then lead the way out of the room.

"Um, did I miss something?"

"Badger was bluffing. He never knew about Anne and Wash and everything else."

"Then how do you explain him knowing?"

"We've been working for him for over ten years. He just picked things up. Come to think of it, we were probably talking about them before he said that, it being M-day and all."

"Well, then, good work, I guess."

"Tell that to River."

* * *

><p>"River!" Wash yelled, running through the crowded streets, "Come back here!"<p>

River danced easily through the crowds, stopping now and then to turn around and wave the toy at him. She had been looking for a game, and, unable to find one, stole one of Wash's dinosaurs. It was his favorite, a stegosaurus and one of the first ones he'd gotten, so he'd chased her around the ship for it, treating it like a game. Once she'd fled to the streets, however, all thoughts of the toy or the game were wiped out by the thought of "Simon's gonna kill me."

"I'm serious, River. This isn't funny anymore! When- oof!" he ran straight into a young woman, knocking her over.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I was-" he searched for River. She was now on the roof of a building not too far away, smiling and holding the dinosaur over her head.

"It's okay, I-" she stopped when she saw his face, and her blue eyes widened.

"Wash?"

* * *

><p>*End of Chapter 5*<p>

* * *

><p>* Taken from 'The Graveyard Book' by Neil Gaiman.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

"Wash?" she whispered, staring into the blue-grey eyes that were the exact same color as her's.

"Lina?"

"Oh my gosh, it _is_ you! Wow, I haven't seen you in forever."

"I know, it's been ages! How've you been?"

"I've been better, to be honest."

"What happened?"

"Remember, before you went off to college and forgot about your family-"

"I'm sorry, I meant to call or write, but-"

"It's fine. Anyway, before you left, you remember I was dating Max? Well, we fell in love, we got married,"

"Congrat-"he began, but she kept going, in a forcefully cheery voice.

"He cheated on me, we got divorced. He kept the house, and I ended up selling flowers on a street corner and sleeping under a bench."

"Sorry-"

"But, I ran into Mario and Sydney a little while ago- remember them? - and they said they were looking for someone to share a house with over on Bernadette. So now all I need is a ride, though that's beginning to look as likely as the dead coming alive. So, what about you? How's your life?"

* * *

><p>"Wow."<p>

That was all she had to say. "Wow. Really? You?"

"Uh-huh."

"You got married?"

"Yep."

"Is she… I don't know… disfigured in any way, or… does she have brain damage, or something?"

At that moment River appeared. "It's no fun if you don't play," she said.

"Oh, right. Give me that." He grabbed his dinosaur from her, and she stuck out her tongue at him.

"Um, what-?"

"Lina, this is River. River, this is Lina-"

"Li."

"Right. This is Li, my sister."

"And who's that?" she said, pointing to the toy.

"This is Sam, the Silly Stegosaurus."

"One of the many reasons why you _can't be married!_"

"Why are you so surprised by this?"

"Because this is- wrong, and- icky! You're my dorky older brother, not my more-successful-in-life-than-me older brother and apparently loving husband!" He raised an eyebrow. "Someone else's husband, I mean. And you never even told me I had a sister-in-law!"

"Wash?" Zoe walked toward them, flanked by Mal and Jayne, "What are you doing? I thought you were on the ship."

"I was just rescuing Sam the Stegosaurus from the evil clutches of River the... human," he said, "And catching up with my little sister, Li. Li, Zoe, Zoe, Li."

"So is this the captain of your ship, or-?"

"No, zhe shi wo de tai tai!"

"Her?"

"Why do people always say that? I think we make a great couple."

"Well, yeah, it's just she's… pretty, and… un-brain-damage-y. Are you by any chance blind?"

"Wait, you've got a sister?" Mal interjected.

"You didn't tell them about me?"

"Did you tell Max about me?"

"He's met you!"

"Right, bad example-"

"Ahem!" Mal said, "I hate to interrupt this pleasant little chat, but we've got a schedule to keep."

"Could I talk to you for a second, sir?" Wash asked.

Li snorted "'Sir?'"

"Shut up," Wash whispered.

Mal sighed and stepped away from the group. "What is it?"

"Well, my sister's been kinda going through some tough times, and she could really use a ride, and-"

"How far?"

"Just to Bernadette. And we do have an extra room."

Mal sighed, "Long as she can pay."

"Well…"

"Oh, come on!

"Please, Mal?"

"No!"

"Even if I make my puppy-dog face?"

"Please! Like that would work on me."

* * *

><p>"We're taking on passengers?" Mei asked.<p>

"Looks like."

"She's really nice," Wash said," And…and clean, and I've been told she's very funny."

"Need I remind you that the last passenger you took on got shot?"

"I really am sorry about that-"

"I'm not saying that for pity, I'm just saying that this ship and passengers don't really mix."

"Well, it's too late now. We already agreed to let her come."

"Where is she?"

"Off getting her stuff. I really do think you're gonna like her. She's just a bit…"

There was a loud rapping on the doors to the ship, and they could hear her shouting, "Hello? Anyone? I really hope this is the right ship."

"…loud," Wash finished, "We should probably help her."

Lina continued to shout, "If this is the wrong ship, I'm really, really sorry. Please don't shoot me or anything like that!"

They opened the doors, and she ducked and shouted, "Don't hurt me!"

"We weren't planning on it."

"Oh, good. It's you," she said, straightening up and entering the ship, scrutinizing every inch of it. "So, this is your ship. It's… um… very, well… it's kind of a piece of crap."

"We might have to rethink that whole 'not hurting you' thing," Wash said, "Serenity is the best ship in the sky."

"Uh-huh," she said, in her best whatever-you-say tone.

"Right now, it's dinner time, so I'm gonna be getting back to that," Mal said, "Wash will show you to your room and show you around the ship."

"Let me take your bags," Wash said, and lead the way to her room, pointing out landmarks along the way. "This is the cargo bay, that's the infirmary, and this is your room." He opened the door, tossed her things carelessly inside, and closed it again. "Now, I'm starving, so let's eat. I can show you the rest later.

In the dining room, he introduced her to the rest of the crew. "I think you've already met Mal, Jayne, and Zoe. This is Kaylee, our mechanic, her husband Simon, he's also our medic, River, his sister, Mei, our cook, Inara, who rents the shuttle, and Sheppard Book, our… Sheppard," Li exchanged handshakes and "Ni hao"s with everyone. "And this," he said, swooping up Anne and placing her in his lap, "Is Annette, my daughter."

Li was dumbstruck. "You… You never told me," she said slowly, "You never told me I had a niece." After a while, she seemed to get over her awe, and added, "You jerk!"

"Ah, just like old times. Five minutes together and we're already calling each other names."

"So, not the best relationship growing up, then?" Mal asked.

"Are Simon and River the only brother and sister you've met? Because they are not normal. They're pretty much the freaks of the sibling community."

"What do they do?" Li asked, "Do they complement each other without sarcasm, or do favors without expecting money in return, or just generally can get through a conversation without insults?"

"All of the above."

"Really? Is that even possible? We should study them. You know, set up a little lab and stuff."

All eyes drifted naturally to River, though they darted away quickly.

"Why is everyone looking at her?" Li asked warily.

Before anyone could speak, River said, "Oh, sorry. Before I came here, I studied the behavioral patterns of primates, and I've been known to drone on about the lab," It was not her words that were alarming, but her voice. She sounded like a bright, happy, young woman, not like the troubled young crazy they knew. But she still sounded like River, an eerie glimpse of a River Tam who had never been to the academy. "By the way," she said, "I'm River. River Milton."

* * *

><p>"You know, River, you could make quite the actress," Wash mused.<p>

River simply stared at the stars, apparently lost in thought. After a while she said dreamily, "I like River Milton. She's normal, and happy. And her friends don't have to be worried about her all the time. I bet they even enjoy having her around."

"I enjoy having you around! You're a remarkable young woman, and a good friend," Wash said, "And besides, River Milton never had to be a lab rat for government scientists. That's enough to mess with anyone's mind. Anyway, being normal's overrated. Sure, you speak in riddles and read minds, but I'd rather have you as a friend than 'River Milton'"

"And I'd rather have you as a friend than someone who didn't talk to plastic dinosaurs." River smiled, and suddenly she seemed so _normal._ As much as he loved River, and as much as he'd meant every word he said, he couldn't help falling in love with the sweet young girl who smiled at him that moment. "I can take over flying if you want," she said, "So you could go see your sister."

"Xie xie. Don't crash the ship," he said. "And stay crazy!" he called behind him as he left.

River stared at the black, thinking about the life that could have been hers.


	7. Chapter 7

It had started off innocently enough. Kaylee had come to tell River that dinner would be ready soon, and found her writing. She used a beautiful calligraphy set, with dragons carved on the grindstone and painted on the brushes and water pot. Her characters were elegant, writing out some old poem about the moon.

"River…" Kaylee said. River jumped, accidentally flicking her brush at Kaylee. A smudge of ink landed squarely on Kaylee's nose. Kaylee had just washed her face for the first time in far too long, so she grabbed another brush, dipped it in the ink, and chased River around the room.

"Come here," she giggled, "It's only fair." She finally succeeded in cornering River, and dabbed her nose with the brush.

Things escalated after that.

* * *

><p>Li knocked on the door. No one answered, but she could faintly hear laughter, and someone saying, "Hold still! It's going to smear."<p>

Another voice asked, "What are you writing?" There was a pause, and then an outraged, "Hey! Get back here!"

Li decided to let herself in, and found Kaylee cornered by River, trying to keep her from writing on her with an expensive calligraphy brush. Both women had spatterings of ink on their clothes and arms and black noses. Kaylee's eyebrows had been inked black, she had a smiley face on one cheek, a heart on the other, and a spiral on her forehead. River had what looked like cat whiskers painted on her cheeks and a large, dripping 笨 the center of her forehead.

"Wait, wait!" Kaylee said. She scribbled out the 笨 and wrote 聰 on one side of it and 明 on the other. "Better?" she asked. River walked over to the mirror and inspected it.

"Almost," she said, and painted a large streak on Kaylee's arm.

"Ahem," Li said, "Dinner's ready."

Kaylee looked down. "I should probably wash my hands," she said, though Li couldn't help but think that her hands were the least of her problems.

She walked back toward the dining room, but before she got there, she heard shouting.

"I didn't call you a whore!" Mal said defensively.

"You said, and I quote…" Inara shouted, but Li didn't stick around to hear exactly what Mal had called her. _Maybe dinner can wait, _she thought, and decided to see Wash on the bridge.

When she got there, she saw Wash and Zoe kissing passionately, and turned away quickly. _I'm just gonna go to my room_, she thought, _and hope nothing explodes. _She'd expected any crew her brother was a part of to be pretty weird, maybe a little dysfunctional, but this was a bit extreme.

* * *

><p>Wash stood in front of <em>Serenity, <em>waving good-bye to his sister as she walked off into the bright Bernadette sunset. He turned to Mei, who stood beside him, and smiled.

"See? Nothing bad happened. Maybe you're the one with bad luck."

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, there was a shout, and several men were pointing guns at his sister.

"For the record, she was off the ship."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **I'm really sorry it took me so long to post this. The computer is in my sister's room, and since she's at college, that usually isn't a problem, but her being home for Thanksgiving really made it hard to write. That's my excuse for the first couple days, and after that... I'm lazy. Very lazy. Also, you know that special kind of writing block where you're having trouble with one sentence, and you know that if you could just write it, everything would be easier? I got that at least three times on this chapter. It was very hard to write. So, I'm sorry again for the delay and I hope this is worth the wait.

* * *

><p>Li stood very still, eyes widening and blood draining from her face. She resisted the urge to look back at Wash. If she was lucky, they hadn't seen her get off the ship and she wouldn't be dragging anyone else into this. This was her mess, she would have to get herself out of it.<p>

"Well, well, well," said one of them, "If it isn't little miss Washburn."

Li detested her last name, but it was the least of her problems right now. She drew herself up to her full height, held her head high, and put on her best disdainful voice. "David," she said coldly.

"Lina," her said with equal scorn.

"My name is Li."

"But that implies friendship. My employees are not my friends. Especially not deserters," Li said nothing, simply glared at him, and racked her brain for a solution. None came to mind. David continued, "Did you really think you could just leave and we wouldn't find you?"

"You know, we're adults. I'm not going to tattle."

"But as a rule, I don't leave any loose ends."

Li was about to reply, something that might have been very witty or might have been "Screw you," she wasn't entirely sure, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Excuse me,"

_No,_ Li thought, _Not even he would be that stupid. Would he?_

"Why exactly do you have some rather impressive-looking guns trained on my sister?"

"Wash, get out of here!" Li hissed.

"You have a brother?" someone asked.

"See, it doesn't really come up in conversation," Wash said. Li tried to shove him back toward the ship, but they were surrounded. Suddenly Li thought of Anne and Zoe, and the rest of her brother's crew. He actually had a good life ahead of him, and she admonished herself for getting him into this.

"David, he's nothing to do with you. Just let him go."

"He could identify me."

"He doesn't even know who you are! He doesn't know you're name."

"I've gathered that it's David."

"You aren't helping!"

"You are helping me quite a bit," David said, "Lina, if you try anything stupid, your brother dies."

"And if I'm a good little girl, you'll just let him go, will you?"

"I might kill him second."

"Well, that's a real comfort."

"I think everyone could stand to calm down," Wash said, "and Li," he glanced to his right, "duck."

Li threw herself toward the ground and heard gunfire and confused and angry shouts. Wash grabbed her hand and led her away from the fight and back onto the ship.

"Everyone on?" he yelled, and the rest of the crew shouted back confirmations. He sealed the doors and ran to the bridge. In a minute they were in the air. Li wanted to point out that she still needed to meet Mario and Sydney, but she decided it wasn't the best time.

* * *

><p>Wash and Li sat in silence for a long time. Li stared at her hands and Wash stared at the black. After a while he said, "Do you mind telling me what happened back there?"<p>

Li thought for a while, and several times opened her mouth before deciding against speaking. Finally, she blurted out, "I didn't lie to you, not really. When you asked about my life, I didn't really _lie,_ in the strictest sense. I just sort of… left out a few… important… details."

Wash was in no position to criticize her, so he waited for her to continue.

"Everything I said about me and Max, and sleeping on a bench, that was all true. I just forgot to mention that when I was homeless and poor, I met some… unsavory... people. Smugglers."

Wash actually laughed out loud at that. He stifled it quickly though. "Sorry, I… I'm very disappointed in you, young lady."

"Well, I really needed the money, and I'd always envied you for being able to fly and see the world, so I got a job with them. Drugs. I was a drug dealer. I never took any of the stuff!" she added quickly, defensively, "But it wasn't a good life. Not the most friendly crew, as you've seen, and the customers… Well, you can imagine.

"So when I ran into Mario and Syd, and heard about their offer, I ran away. I thought if I could just make it to Bernadette, I'd be safe. But they don't really like it when people run away. 'Loose ends,' as he put it."

There was another moment of silence before she whispered, "I'm sorry, ge ge." It was so soft he could barely hear it.

Wash looked at his sister, with her head in her hands. She had teased him when they were younger, and been teased in return. She had called Serenity a piece of crap and stared down a drug dealer without fear. She was his baby sister, and he had to forgive her.

"It's fine, mei mei. We've all made stupid mistakes."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I remember, whenever kids would pick on me when we were little, I'd tell them my big brother would beat them up if they didn't quit it. (Later, whenever they found out you were my brother, they teased me even worse, but still). Well, you _really _beat them up today."

"Uh-huh. Whenever we retell this, we should replace the part where we run away and let the rest of them handle it with me going, 'No one messes with my little sister,' and then punching him in the face."

"Yeah. And then I break out my ninja skills."

If this were a movie, Wash thought, now would be the time to admit that he, too, had been less than truthful and explain everything that had happened. But there was so much to explain, so much that she wouldn't believe. Sometimes _he_ had trouble believing it all, and Li had always said he was crazy. She had been joking, of couse, but if he told her everything, she might seriously question his sanity. So, instead, he just said, "Where do you want me to drop you off?"

"The house is a little way south of here," she said, "And thanks. For everything."


	9. Chapter 9

_Zoe grew anxious as Wash entered the fray, talking amiably to them as if they didn't have half a dozen rifles trained on him. She aimed at one of the more sinister looking ones and glanced at Mal. He was in position, too, and it didn't look like any of the others had spotted them._

_Then, suddenly, in the way of dreams, the rest of them all disappeared and it was just her, Wash and the leader of the gang, the one she'd heard Li call David. He raised his gun, and Zoe tried to shoot him, but her gun turned to a water pistol in her hands. She threw it at him in despair, but it was too late. Wash fell to the ground, covered in bright, bright blood._

_Zoe stared at the neatly written name upon the tombstone and felt tears prick her eyes._

"_What's wrong?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her._

"_I miss you," she said simply, not bothering to see who it was._

_He spun her around so that she was facing him. "Oh, you know me," Wash said, "I always come back." He pulled her close, and…_

… And suddenly she was in her bed, tired but awake. She reached out an arm to the other side of the bed, hoping to pick up where the dream had left off, but her hand found only sheets and blankets. Of course. Wash was still on Bernadette.

Wash had insisting on staying with his sister for a little while things settled down. The crew had a schedule to keep, so River had taken over his piloting duties. Zoe had wanted to stay with him, but Mal insisted she remain on the ship.

_It's only a week,_ she reminded herself, though that was a very optimistic estimate; it might take them that long to get to Ita. It was impossible to tell on the ship, but it felt like it was still early morning, so she drifted off to sleep.

"_What's wrong?"_

"_I miss you."_

"_Well, you know me. I always come back," He pulled her close, and the rest of the world melted away. Wash was running his hand through her hair, down her back. Then, suddenly, he gave a cough and collapsed._

_David stood behind him, a bloody knife in his hand._

* * *

><p>"I'm fine. What's wrong?" Wash looked concerned, and tired. In retrospect, Zoe thought she probably should have checked what time it was on Bernadette before she called.<p>

"I'm just worried about you, is all. Is that so odd?"

"No but, you tracking down my sister's address and sending me a wave is. Is everything alright?"

"It's fine," Zoe said, "I miss you."

"I miss you, too, baby."

"Will you-"

"Shh." Wash said, tipping his head to one side. Zoe could hear it, too, faintly. It took her a second to recognize the sound. Screaming.

"I gotta go."

"But-"

"Love you!" he said hurriedly, and the screen went blank.


	10. Chapter 10

"Wash? There's a wave for you." Li poked her head into Wash's temporary bedroom, which was really one of the larger closets. She looked, happy- shiny, in fact- and she wasn't a morning person. So either she just got some very good news or he had slept in far too late.

Wash threw up a hand to block the sudden light. "Ugh. What time is it?" He fumbled with the light and tried to get his eyes to stay open.

"Ten in the morning. You've been sleeping for a while."

"Mm. Why did you wake me up again?"

"You got a wave."

"From who?"

"What's-her-face. Your wife."

"Zoe?"

"That's the one."

Wash jumped out of bed, hastily pulling on a shirt and attempting to straighten out his hair. When he reached the Cortex screen, he saw Zoe's face light up.

"Hey!"

"Hi, honey. This is a surprise. Where did even get this address?"

"Oh, this nifty little site on the Cortex," she said dismissively, "Not technically legal, but not much of what we do is, is it?"

"I guess not. Why-?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What's wrong?" Wash replied, confused. Zoe wasn't the kind of person to be easily troubled, so why on Earth-that-was would she be calling him?

"I'm just worried about you, is all. Is that so odd?"

"No but, you tracking down my sister's address and sending me a wave is. Is everything alright?"

"It's fine," Zoe said, "I miss you."

"I miss you, too, baby."

"Will you-" Zoe began, but he quieted her. He heard something that chilled his blood. Mario was shouting. Mario was a big man, and not easily frightened, but now he was screaming like a little girl. And was he- no, it couldn't be! - Was he _crying?_ While Mario wasn't as brave or as tough as most people his size, Wash had never heard him cry. The very idea was strange. This had to be serious.

"I gotta go!" he said quickly.

"But-" Zoe said, but he really didn't have time to discuss it.

"Love you!" he said, and shut off the screen.

He ran downstairs, and found Mario bleeding in the doorway.

"What happened?"

"Bastards shot me! And they took Li. I don't know who they were or where they went, they just grabbed Li and dragged her off."

"Is Sydney all right?"

"I think so."

"Well, have him call for help."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna go get Li."

* * *

><p>Zoe tried to put the incident with Wash out of her mind, but she hadn't even been able to ignore a dream. In the end, she gave up and sent them another wave.<p>

For a moment, she was elated to see Li, but then she realized it was a recording. She stood between two men that Zoe had never seen before, who made faces while she talked.

"_Hey! This is Li, Mario, and Syd. We're not in ri- He he! Stop it, guys, you're messing me up!- We're not in right now, so either try again another time or leave us a message._

_The men behind her moved forward. "Peace, y'all," One of them said, holding out two of his fingers._

_The other held out his hand in a position that made it look like he had only three fingers. "Live long and prosper," he said._

_Li rolled her eyes. "You guys are such weirdos."_

Then the video switched to the one everyone was familiar with, a recording of a professional-looking lady with calming voice, instructing her to record her message in san, er, yi.

"Hello? Is anyone there? Answer me! Wash, are you alright?"

The screen switched on, and Zoe recognized one of the men from the recording, the one who had told her to live long and prosper. She could tell right away that he was in bad shape. His face was pale and strained and the hand she could see was soaked in blood.

"Hello? Who are you?"

"Wash's wife. What happened?"

"Some people came. I don't know who they are, but they shot me and ran off with Li. There were a lot of them. And Wash went after them."

"What! That _idiot!_ If he dies, I'm going to _kill_ him!"

"Um,"

"I know it doesn't make sense!" she shouted, "Do you know where they went?"

"No, sorry."

"Ta ma de!" Zoe shouted, and left without turning off the Cortex. As she ran, she felt the ship lurch, and went to the bridge to see what was going on. Mal was already there, shouting at River.

"What in the Hell are you doing?"

"Wash is in trouble." River said, frowning at the controls.

"What-"

"It's true. I just talked to someone at the house. Apparently, some people came and kidnapped Li, and Wash went after them."

"But- these are new clients! And, in case you didn't notice, not exactly cuddly."

"Wash is going to get himself killed!" Zoe shouted.

"We can make it back before the end of the day if we're careful." River added.

Mal relented. "We can't land there. But we can get you close enough to leave in the shuttle."

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

><p>Zoe flew as fast as the shuttle would go, scanning the ground for any sign of Wash. Finally, she found him trying to force entry to a small, square building. Before she could do anything, the doors gave way beneath his shoulder and he ran in.<p>

Zoe landed the ship so recklessly she nearly crashed, but didn't care. She ran into the building, which was filled with people, some of whom she recognized as the ones who had attacked Li before. Li was tied to a chair, and Wash was running toward her.

"Wash!" she shouted.

"Zoe?" he said, spinning around to face her.

Then there was a bang, and Wash fell to the ground, covered in bright, bright blood.


	11. Chapter 11

"I have a bit of a dilemma, which you might have been aware of," David said, pacing the warehouse. Li had given up trying to wriggle out of the ropes, and spent her energy glaring at David, half-hoping that if she put enough anger into her stare, the laws of physics might bend and she would develop laser-vision or something. _That sort of thing happens all the time on sci-fi shows, right?_ she thought.

"One of my workers decides to leave. That, I can deal with. I've dealt with deserters before. But, you, you decide to drag all sorts of people into this previously simple matter. And, might I add, wound half my crew, including myself," He held up his bandaged arm.

"I'm hurt, Li. Not just in here," he touched his arm, "but in here." He put a hand to his heart and looked at her in mock-sadness.

"However, I think there's a very simple solution to this."

"And that would be?" Li asked, trying to sound bored.

"You. We bring you here, all your little friends come to get you, and we take care of them."

"You're an idiot."

"Am I?"

"You are. My 'little friends' left ages ago. And even if they came, there are lots of them, and they're good fighters. You'd just get yourself killed."

"Well, in the unlikely event that they start to beat us, there's always Plan B."

"Plan B?"

"You ever wonder what was in all these crates?"

"I assumed drugs."

"Some of them. But in some of them, I've got a back-up plan. Enough explosives to take care of all the evidence, plus anyone who got too nosy. And more than enough to take care of you and your little friends."

Before Li could say anything, there was shouting outside.

"Li! _Li!"_ Wash shouted.

"Well? Answer him." David said.

"Not in a million years," Li hissed.

"What's his name?" one woman mused.

"I think it was Wash," David replied.

The woman looked at Li for a moment, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Wash!" It didn't sound exactly like Li, but it was close enough. "Wash, I'm in here!"

There was a loud banging against the doors as though Wash were throwing himself at them.

"Aren't you going to invite him in?" Li asked, "like a gentleman?"

"If he suspects a trap too soon, the whole thing is pointless. Which reminds me," he took a strip of cloth from his pockets and shoved it in her mouth, muffling her shouts of, "Don't you dare! I'm gonna kill you. The second I get untied or get laser-eyes, I'm gonna kill you."

Wash burst into the warehouse, wild-eyed and insane.

"Li, are you alright?"

She couldn't answer, so she tried to jerk her head in the direction of the door. Wash seemed to take it as "Get me out of here," for he started towards her.

"Wash!" Zoe appeared in the doorway, and Wash turned to face her. At that moment, however, David drew his gun.

"Zoe?" he said. David aimed in the center of his back and fired.

* * *

><p>For a moment there was silence. Then Zoe gave an inarticulate cry of rage and threw herself into action. She was armed, but seemed to prefer beating them with her own hands. She was relentless, attacking anything that moved. She was wearing her armor, so she ignored the bullets that flew her way. All this made her look invincible, and many of the smugglers ran.<p>

Li, for her part, had tried to inch closer to Wash to see if he was alright, but only succeeded in tipping the chair over and falling flat on her face. The growing pool of blood seeped towards her, and she felt sick.

David looked around at his workers fleeing from Zoe, and said quite calmly, "Plan B, then," and strode from the building.

Or, rather, tried to stride from the building. Before he could, Zoe threw her gun at him with enough force to knock him flat. Then she proceeded to pummel every inch of him, channeling all of her fury into her fists, her feet, her elbows. She wasn't picky about how she hurt him. She just wanted to _hurt_ him. All the worry, frustration, and pain of the last few hours came out as she beat the drug dealer senseless.

Li, unable to articulate her thoughts, simply screamed at the top of her voice to bring Zoe to her senses. Zoe stood up, gave David one last kick, and ran to assist Li. She set the chair upright, untied her hands and feet, and removed the gag. Then she turned to Wash.

He was lying facedown in the dirt, with his back soaked in blood. Zoe checked his pulse. It was faint, but there.

"He's alive," she said numbly.

"We have to get a doctor. There must be one nearby," Li said.

"I should have brought Simon," Zoe said flatly "Or River. I wonder if she knows yet. Probably does. Poor thing."

"Zoe, snap out of it!" Li shouted, "Wash isn't dead yet! But he will be if all you do is just sit there!"

"You don't understand."

"Of course I understand! He's my brother! I've known him a lot longer than you, you know. At least you know what it's like not to know him. My whole life, he's been there for me. Even after he left, I knew he would still be there if I needed him. So don't you _dare _say that I don't understand."

"You don't understand," she said again, this time a note of pleading in her voice, "I can't do this again. I can't. I just can't."

"What do you mean 'again'?"

Wash began to stir, and Zoe turned him over so she could see his face.

"Come on, baby, stay with me," she said tenderly, "You can't leave me again. Remember last time? Remember what you said to me? You promised you wouldn't die again."

"What do you mean 'die again'? What 'last time'? Has he died before? What am I saying, that's insane!"

The rest of her words were drowned out by the roar of engines right outside the warehouse. Li ran to see what it was, leaving Zoe kneeling beside Wash.

Serenity landed gracefully beside the warehouse and in a few seconds, River ran out, dragging Simon by the arm. They disappeared inside as Mal came running out after them, shouting.

"What's going on?" Li asked him.

"Apparently, I got a crazy lady behind the helm. Well, I guess I already knew that,"

"Why does nothing you people say make any sense?"

Before Mal could answer, River ran past, and returned a minute later with a stretcher and Simon's bag.

"What happened?" Mal asked, but the answer came as soon as he said it. Wash lay on the stretcher, with Simon pushing it, Zoe clutching his hand, and River buzzing about giving suggestions on how to treat him.

"That happened."

* * *

><p>Zoe woke up in the infirmary and immediately wished that she hadn't. She'd been having the most wonderful dream. She couldn't remember the details, but she had an image in her head of dancing with Wash (despite the fact that she never danced) while Simon played the fiddle.<p>

Zoe stared at Wash, who still hadn't woken up. Simon had said that they were very lucky, that it had missed the spine. He'd said more after that, but she couldn't remember any of it. She'd stopped listening after he said the word "lucky."

She had never felt less lucky in her life.

Well, no, the rational voice in the back of her head pointed out, she had felt much, much worse. Perhaps she'd never thought the word _unlucky_ specifically, but that didn't mean she'd felt any more fortunate.

She sensed rather than heard that someone else was in the room. She knew who it without checking, but she didn't like to look at Wash's still face, so she glanced upwards to see River gazing at them, yet somehow looking at something a million miles away.

There were a lot of things Zoe wanted to say, but she couldn't quite find the words. Besides, River probably knew what she was thinking anyway. So, in the end, she just said, "Thank you."

River nodded distractedly, and continued to stare. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly open; she looked like she was in shock.

"Shame you can't see the future," Zoe said shakily, "I could sure use some reassurance right now."

"He won't die," River said, "Not yet, anyway."

"You can see the future?"

"No. But I know medicine, and Simon did a good job."

"Oh. Well, with our luck he'll turn out to be allergic to the meds or the ship will crash or something like that,"

"I should go. I expect you'll want to be alone when he wakes up."

"Will he…" Zoe began, but River was gone.

Beside her, Wash opened his eyes.


	12. Chapter 12

Neither of them spoke for a while. Wash examined his hands, avoiding eye contact, while Li bit her lip, trying to find the right words. Wash almost missed their old relationship. Certainly, he missed the ease with which they spoke, though that also came with the name-calling, annoyance, and shouting. He may have referred to her as his "annoying little sister" for most of his life, and he was sure that she had called him worse, but he missed being able to speak freely with her. The awkwardness in the room was driving him crazy; he almost wanted to shout just to break the silence. However, that would lead to him having to explain everything that had happened, and his sister would forever question his sanity. So, he pretended to be fascinated in his fingernails and waited for her to speak.

"Do you mind explaining what happened back there?" she said finally. It was almost exactly what Wash had asked her after the incident on Bernadette, and the reference wasn't lost on him.

"It's a long story."

"Well, I've got time."

Wash took a deep breath. "If I said it was about smuggling, harboring the two most wanted fugitives, and dying, what would you think?"

Li stared at him for a second, then seemed to decide he was joking. "I'd feel bad for calling you crazy all those years, since you would clearly be suffering from a severe mental illness."

"Well, I'd better not say that, then," he said, and laughed desperate, hysterical laughter, making Li's face grow more concerned.

"Look, ge ge, maybe this isn't the best time. You're very sick. And who knows what these pain medications are doing. I remember after I had my surgery, I was spewing complete nonsense about unicorns and leprechauns stealing my brain,"

"I'm not crazy."

"Of course not," she said in a soothing voice that drove him crazy. She sounded like she was talking to a child. "You're just very, very sick. Whenever you recover some, we'll talk more. For now, you just focus on getting better." She patted his knee reassuringly and rose to leave.

"I'm not crazy. Or delusional from my meds."

Li paused in the doorway and looked back at him. There was such sadness and pity in that look that she didn't need to speak. It was the kind of look one gives their grandmother whenever they mistake you for your mother. It showed that she didn't believe him, would never believe him. She thought he was insane, and it was breaking her heart. However, all she said was, "Anything you say."

Wash almost wished she hadn't said anything at all.

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><p><strong>Author's<strong>** Note:**The next chapter's going to be the last, a short(ish) epilogue set about 10-15 years in the future. I know that's kind of a weird ending, but, in case you haven't caught on before now, I'm really bad at endings. If I were better at ending things, this story might have been at least 5 chapters shorter. Remember when this story was about Anne? Those were simpler times. I'm sorry this got so off-topic and rambling, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.


	13. Epilogue

_Author's Note:__ I'm so, so very sorry it took me so long to post this. I couldn't figure out how to approach it, things kept coming up, you know the excuses. Thank you for being so patient. You guys are the best! And, again, I am really sorry. It turned from a little spell of writer's block to truly ridiculous. If it helps, I've been working on a few other projects, though I haven't published them yet, so keep checking my profile for updates. (If you haven't burned me in effigy for the wait.)_

_Here we go._

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><p>Annette Washburne was thoroughly happy. As she'd just discussed with Kaylee, she was looking forward to spending time with the boy worked in a tea shop in Athens, who she'd talked with several times, and found witty, charming, and, she had to admit,<em> fei cahng<em> ke ai. Kaylee had listened and agreed that he did indeed sound quite nice.

Anne's smile faded abruptly when she saw Kaylee talking with her father.

"Anne," her father began seriously. Anne shot Kaylee a poisonous look, and she looked appropriately shamefaced. "What's this I hear…'

"I'm 17!" Anne blurted out.

"Uh…"

"I'm 17 and I still haven't been on a date! I know that you're my father, and it's your job to treat me like I'm 2, but I'm not, and I need to grow up sometime!"

Wash studied her for a moment before saying, exasperated, "Zoe!"

His wife appeared in moments. "Problem?"

"Your daughter wants to go on a date in Athens."

"Shiny," she said, "Ke ai ma?"

"I hardly see how that…" Wash started futilely, but they ignored him completely.

"_Fei chang_ ke ai." Anne said.

"Well, have fun. Don't get kidnapped." Zoe said, then, to Wash, "Call me if anything important comes up."

She strode off.

"And don't you have a ship to fly?" she called over her shoulder.

"Oh right. That thing." He trudged off towards the bridge, leaving Anne and Kaylee together.

"You told my dad?" Anne asked, infuriated.

"You know I can't keep secrets! Anyway, it's still hard to think of Wash as your dad. I never thought he'd grow up. And I'm still not convinced he has."

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><p>"Remember, everything guys say is a lie. Including what I just said." They were standing by the entrance of the ship, and Wash was unwilling to leave without giving his daughter advice.<p>

"Zai jian, baba." She said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, "Zai jian mama. Zai jian, _Serenity_!"

* * *

><p>The date was fun. Anne didn't know much about pop culture, and Rory (the boy from the tea shop) didn't know much about ships, but they still made good conversation. Anne left it wanting to read several books he'd mentioned, and Rory left it wanting to see <em>Serenity<em>. She agreed that she should him around, if her parents and the captain thought it was okay, but in her mind she was thinking about how embarrassing her parents were going to be and, oh God, Uncle Jayne… but she didn't voice any of her fears out loud.

So, she ended up leading him by the hand through the crowded streets, searching for both her parents and her ship. They were both giggling, dazed, and happy.

"There they are!" she said, spotting one of her dad's distinctive bright shirts in the crowd. Before she called out to them, she witnessed something strange.

The two were walking when they ran into a tall black man in a plain grey shirt. The moment she saw him, Zoe stopped, her eyes blazing.

"_You!_" she hissed.

"Who?" It took Wash a moment to recognize him. "_Him?"_ he said when he figured it out.

The other man seemed a bit puzzled by Wash, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he said, "I have no quarrel with you. We-"

Zoe laughed a bit bitterly at this. "_You_…" she repeated. Then, she leaned towards him, and said something quietly to him. Anne couldn't hear what she was saying, but she could feel the ferocity in her words.

The man seemed perfectly calm. (Which was very surprising, because Anne had never met anyone who wasn't afraid of her mother when she was angry.)

"Do you still feel that way?" he said, coolly.

Zoe glanced at Wash, and noticed as she did Anne, with Rory on her arm. "I haven't forgiven you," she said coldly, "but I think I've moved on."

The whole event reminded Anne inexplicably of an incident from her childhood.

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><p><em>Anne was 12 years old, and very proud. When her parents had explained to her that their career was not entirely legal, she'd imagined that she knew all the family's secrets.<em>

_How wrong she was._

_It was the usual story; the deal had gone wrong, a disagreement about prices; it happened all too often. Except this time, it had ended with a bullet in Zoe's stomach. By the time they got her to the ship, she was unconscious and had lost a dangerous amount of blood. Most of the crew crowded into the infirmary._

"_Is she gonna be okay?" Wash asked Simon. Anne didn't think she'd ever seen her father so concerned._

"_I need room to work," Simon muttered distractedly, his mind on the task at hand._

_A few people left the infirmary, and everyone made room. Wash backed off, but his eyes never left his wife._

"_Mommy?" Anne asked softly, grabbing her mother's hand._

_A minute later, Simon swore for the first time in years._

_Everyone grew tense. "Captain…" Wash said, "if she doesn't make it…"_

"_I know what you're thinking, and it's too risky." Mal said._

"_She'd do the same for me," he said fiercely, "she has done…"_

"_That was _years_ ago."_

"_Does that change anything? I-"_

"_Anne, leave the room," Mal said quickly, "I need to have a word with your father."_

"_Don't you talk to her that way! She's_ my_ daughter!"_

"_And I'm the captain of both of you."_

_They stared at each other for a moment. Pure contempt was etched on Wash's face, while Mal simply looked furious._

"_Anne, leave." Wash said finally, his eyes never leaving Mal's face._

"_But-"_

"_Just leave."_

"_Come on, Anne," Kaylee said softly, taking her hand and leading her from the room. She could hear them shouting the moment she left the room, but she couldn't make out what they were saying._

_Later, Zoe pulled through thanks to Simon's care, and things between Wash and the Captain returned to normal. But Anne never forgot it._

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><p>"What was that about?" Rory asked.<p>

Anne shook her head.

_Secrets._

She wondered if she'd ever know them all.

* * *

><p>~The End~<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's (second) Note: <strong>Again, I'm very sorry about the delay. Thanks to anyone who was patient, and everyone who commented. (*cough* Lala *cough*)

I learned a very important lesson with this story:

**Never try to make a story up as you go along.**

My description of this story was ,"A brief story of the life of Annette Washburne." Remember when it was mostly about Anne? Those were happier days. (And it really, _really_ wasn't 'brief.') If you're willing to give me a second (or third, or fourth) chance, I'm working on two stories right now:

A Dollhouse/Firefly crossover set during the events of the "Epitaphs"

A post-series pre-movie Firefly story.

By the way, the accidental "Arrested Development" reference was the fact that Wash's daughter was named Anne, and in one episone of AD, Alan Tudyk (who played Wash. If you didn't know that, I'm very disappointed in you. You call yourself a Browncoat?) played Anne's father. (And I got a little too excited.)


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